The present invention relates, in general, to the field of wheel suspensions, and more particularly to a control arm for installation to an axle of a motor vehicle.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Control arms are used in automobile construction to guide and steer the wheels. The control arm provides on one side the connection with the bearing arrangement of the wheel and on the other side the connection with the vehicle body. In addition to the wheel bearing and the driveshaft, the bearing arrangement includes i.a. also a swivel bearing, a connection with the steering knuckle and with the guide joint, with the steering tie rod as well as further elements for the steering, drive, suspension, and brake of the vehicle.
During operation of the vehicle, the control arm is subject to various stress. For that reason, each wheel is oftentimes provided with more than one control arm. Another approach involves the presence of a particularly solid and stable construction to enable the control arm to cope with the high stress. This approach results, however, in increased weight, causing rising fuel consumption. To address the problem of weight, materials of especially high strength or combinations of different materials can be used. For example, the bearing attachment zones which are especially exposed to stress can be made from cast parts or milled parts which are connected to a base body of steel sheet. This hybrid construction is disadvantageous because of the need to join the various components with one another, thereby adversely affecting production costs.
Service life of a control arm and thus safety of a vehicle is an important consideration when constructing and designing the control arm. Care should be taken in particular to the design of connection zones between different components, when a hybrid control arm is involved.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved control arm which obviates prior art shortcomings and which is lightweight and easy to produce while still being reliable in operation and having a long service life.